Justice for Carrie Lawson

"I think about Carrie Lawson every day. I feel such a sense of connection to her. At the time of her disappearance she was a beautiful young woman with her life in front of her."

- Kristi Bryant, Host and Founder of the Southern Gone Podcast

THE CASE

Carrie Lawson was kidnapped on September 11, 1991, in Jasper, Alabama. She was 25 years old and recently graduated from the University of Alabama Law School. This stunning case still haunts the community and her family all these years later.

The kidnapping happened around 3 a.m. at the home Carrie shared with her husband, 26-year-old Earl Lawson. They received a middle-of-the-night call from a woman claiming to be a nurse who said a close family member was at the hospital. As the couple left for the hospital, a gunman appeared at their vehicle. He forced Earl to the ground and instructed Carrie to bind her husband with duct tape.

The gunman, Jerry Bland, demanded a ransom in exchange for the safe return of Carrie. Carrie’s family was willing to pay the $300,000 ransom in order to get their daughter back. Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned.

Karen McPherson, Jerry Bland’s cousin, has been serving 28 years in prison for the kidnapping of Carrie Lawson but to this day Carrie has never been found.

THE DOCUMENTARY

Hi y’all, I am Kristi Bryant, the host and founder of the Southern Gone podcast. I am an armchair detective and Georgia native dedicated to investigating missing person cases in the southern United States. I feel like Carrie was taken before her life even began. I want to help bring peace to her sister Margaret and help the community heal from this tragedy.

I have been investigating this case since 2018 and have had the opportunity to interview Carrie’s sister Margaret and Karen’s sister Christy and brother James. It is my belief that there is more to this story and more people involved in Carrie's disappearance than the one person, Karen, in prison for her kidnapping.

Over the past year, I have become enthralled with the case of Carrie Lawson. I have made it my mission to raise awareness of Carrie’s disappearance and I am making a documentary that will shed light on this case and bring peace to Carrie’s family.

HELP FIND JUSTICE FOR CARRIE

So far this project has been entirely funded by me. I have developed the script and proposal for this documentary. I have conducted preliminary research and interviews through my podcast Southern Gone.

I have been in contact with several sources who are from Jasper, Alabama and have connections to this case. Most notably, I have interviewed Carrie Lawson’s sister and Karen McPherson’s sister and brother.

I have recently connected with a documentary filmmaker who wants to be involved with this project. Now I need financial assistance to get this documentary off the ground and to officially start filming.

My goal is to raise $20,000 by December 2019. As soon as I hit this goal we can start filming.

All donations will go towards the development and production of this documentary!